Parma has been around since Pre-Etruscan times, and was already an established area in the Bronze Age. The Roman colony was founded in 183BC, together with Modena. It has had a turbulent history, being occupied and destroyed many times before the latest damage the city suffered during the German occupation from 1943 to 1945, when several monuments were damaged by the Allied bombardment. However, Parma was relatively lucky to escape without widespread devastation and there are still a great number of monuments to be seen today. The city is also home to the oldest university in the world!

Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy by spaceodissey

Parma and Architecture.

If you are fond of Art, Architecture and Culture, this is the city for you, and you will need at least 2-3 days to see all there is to admire, and also visit the world-famous opera house, the Teatro Regio. This is the home of Verdi and Toscanini, and opera lovers flock here to hear their favourites; the Opera season runs from about April to December, with a festival in October.

There is a lot of Art to be seen, if you keep reading this article you will find out all the Parma tourist attractions! The best place to start would probably be the Pilotta Palace in the historical centre of the town. This Palace now houses some of the most important collections in the city, including the National Gallery where you can see artwork by Correggio, Parmigianino, Leonardo, Tintoretto, van Dyck and many others. While you are there also visit the Bodoni Museum, home to everything to do with Printing and then move on to the Palatine Library to see amazing collections of old books. The Pilotta Palace also houses the Archaeological Museum, worth a visit if you are interested in old artifacts.

Pilotta Palace, Parma, Italy by Herbert Ortner

Next on your list should be the Piazza Duomo, where you can visit the 12th century Romanesque Cathedral, filled with renaissance art. Entrance is free and you can visit from 9 – 12.30 and 3 – 7 pm. Be sure to see the Assumption by Correggio in the central cupola.

After viewing the Duomo, walk to the close-by Baptistery, a combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles, and home to several frescoes dating from the 13th and 14th centuries.

There is another great art collection to be seen at the Court Villa of Mamiano where works by Rubens, Tizano, Goya, Monet, etc can be viewed.

Enough about the culture…I am sure you get the picture! Parma also offers great shopping! If you like antiques, head for the Borgo Nazario Sauro, a small winding road near the centre, where you can explore one antique dealer after the next. This is a great place to find something special to take home.

Duomo, Parma, Italy by Tommaso Meli

Parma and gourmet food.

Parma is known all over the world for its most famous exports, namely Prosciutto di Parma (Parma Ham) and Parmigiano Reggiano (Real Parmesan Cheese), and you really must try both of these and even take some home, but Parma also has several other gastronomic specialities that you should try, so look out for some of the following on restaurant menus: Anolini in Brodo – this is a dish of little pasta parcels filled with beef, Parmesan, poached in a delicious broth; it is a speciality of the town! Also try Tortelli di Erbetta, pasta filled with ricotta, Parmesan and spinach – quite delicious and good for vegetarians.

If you want to try your hand at some Parmesan cookery when you go home try and find the book: “Parma – A Capital of Italian Gastronomy” by Guilano Bugliali – it is fully of wonderful local recipes.

It is possible to go on a tour to see how Parma Ham and Parmesan are made, and you should not miss this experience to round off your visit to the city.

Emilia Delizia is a dedicated writer about food tourism in Italy.

Parmiggiano Reggiano by Kelly Hau

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The Butterfly House is the perfect imitation of their natural environment, so they lay eggs here, pupate and turn into caterpillars and eventually became colored beauties, whose wings range can be in some cases up to 30 centimetres.

Butterfly House was built several years ago and now, on 280 m2, it is a home to about four hundred butterflies, that come from special farms in Thailand, Belize, Costa Rica or the Philippines.

Visitors can observe the entire butterfly life cycle. Information boards explaining what they eat, how they develop, or how long they live. The Butterfly House is suitable for both small kids and adults.

Practical Info

The Butterfly House is located in the heart of Vienna’s emperor’s private gardens, about 200 meters from the Vienna Opera. It is open all year round and the basic admission is €5,50. Parking is available at the Opera House.

For more information visit Official site of Butterfly House.

You may need to browse through some Vienna hotels if you would like to stay here and visit other great attractions in Vienna as well, as it is not possible to see all of them in one day.

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The complex consists of the palace with 126 rooms, opera house, Diana’s Temple, the Temple of Venus, the Hermitage, the Chinese pavilion, dance hall, puppet theatre and a large French garden. The castle was a home of the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn for almost thirty years. Even Empress Maria Theresa lived here in 1773.

After the death of Count Esterházy, the family left and the castle remained empty for nearly a whole century. During the Second World War, the chateau served as a hospital and was damaged. In the past few years the castle has been partially renovated and rebuilt into a hotel. Today there are 26 rooms ​​available.

There is a museum and music hall. Every year it hosts International Music Festival and Weeks of music.

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Peak District National Park was designated in 1951 and consists of two distinct types of landscape. The first type is located in the southern part of the park, called the White Peak, and is characterized by undulating limestone terrain. In the northern part – Dark Peak there are the wild moors and heaths.

Peak District National Park is interlaced with numerous hiking trails with beautiful vantage points – for example, Hathersage, from which you can get a panoramic view of the northern moorland or Edale, from which you can see the winding trail Pennine Way that is 412 km long.

Probably the biggest tourist attraction of the Peak District National Park is Arbor Low – stone ring, called the “Stonehenge of north”. The ring consists of 46 laying stones surrounded by a moat from 2000 BC.

Another beautiful place is Dovedale. In this southern part, the Peak District National Park is densely forested along with the most beautiful river valley, which is dominated by steep cliffs. The site is suitable not only for romantic walks, but also for fishing.

Thanks to limestone bedrock, the Peak District National Park is characterized by caves, such as Thor’s Cave or Treak Cliff Cavern.

But the Peak District National Park is not only about beautiful nature, you can meet lots of historical artifacts and ruins in many places, such as Alport Castle or Peveril Castle. One of the entry points for the park may be a picturesque spa town of Buxton, which opera house is due to its location in the beautiful surroundings of the town called “theater in the hills.” Another entry point can be Cromford village, which boasts the first cotton mill in the world, which used water power.

Peak District National Park also offers a unique tram museum in the town of Crich, where you can ride the old trams from around the world.

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In the capital of Denmark you can find literally everything you could imagine about culture. Thanks to absolutely flat plain, which is so typical for Denmark, Copenhagen is the perfect place suitable for the construction of beautiful castles and palaces. From the Royal Palace Amalienborg Slot, through Rosenborg Castle and Christiansborg Palace to Borsen palace.

What you definitely should not miss are many small museums in the city. Museum of Danish design, fabulous Museum of Hans Ch. Andersen, Karen Blixen Museum in a short distance from Copenhagen…etc… But on a small area of Copenhagen there is still squeezing something else – it is independent State of Christiania that was founded in the 70′s of 20th century.

For the lovers of modern architecture there is a new library building named the Black Diamond, or a brand new opera house built as a gift for Danish people.

Perhaps the best feature of Copenhagen is the possibility of long walks through the city – through the Pedestrian Zone Strøget or through some of the parks.

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Parma Baptisterium, Italy by Philip Schäfer

Up until the middle ages, the town of Parma was regularly attacked, plundered and destroyed. There were many such occasions in which the entire town was rebuilt from the ground up. However, there are still a number of beautiful sites in this small Italian town that dates back to the 11th century. The most famous attraction in Parma is a pink marble tower which can be found in the town’s center. Taking more than 60 years to construct, the Parma Baptisterium has become a symbol of the city. Shortly after its completion, the tower had been damaged by an earthquake requiring it to be rebuilt.

Anyone who visits Parma will have to make their way over to the Teatro Regio which is the city’s own opera house. Arturo Toscanini, the famous conductor was born in Parma and the Theater is now a museum which is dedicated to the life and genius of Toscanini.

Of course we would not have parmesan cheese if it were not for the town of Parma. The town is also known for its special ham recipes too. Today, Parma stands as the European Association for Food Safety’s official home. One cannot go to Parma without trying the many local delicacies which are world renowned. While the town may not have a lot in architectural attractions, the cheese and hams of Parma are an attraction in their own right.

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